Cowdenbeath manager Jimmy Nicholl has told his players that keeping a former Raith Rovers striker quiet will be the key to success against Alloa at Central Park.
Both sides go in search of their first Championship win of the season with Nicholl warning his team to be on their guard against Greig Spence.
He said: “I watched Alloa win 2-1 in midweek against Stirling and they impressed me. They are a side that likes to play good football.
“Greig Spence looked very sharp and scored both their goals. He will need careful watching by our players as he can hurt teams.”
Spence hit a treble when Rovers won 4-3 against Cowdenbeath last August and also netted when Cowden turned the tables with a 2-1 success at Stark’s Park in April and Nicholl added: “He is up to six goals for this season and seems to like scoring against Cowdenbeath so we have to ensure that he does not get the chance.”
The Central Park boss is also determined that his side get back to the performance levels they showed when they started their season at home with a 2-2 draw against Falkirk.
Nicholl explained: “We led twice in that game and gave Falkirk plenty of problems, but against Livingston last weekend we were not as good.
“We were poor at the back and lost two bad goals at the start of the second half.
“We pulled it back to 2-1 but we never played with the same intensity that we had in the Falkirk game.
“Hopefully being at home will be the catalyst to getting things moving again as we have a long unbeaten record here that I don’t want to lose.”
Nicholl is without Sammy Stewart as the midfielder is still suffering from a groin problem, with a loan move to bring in a striker from England being put on ice after the player involved picked up a knock.
Alloa’s former Dundee boss Barry Smith will give defender Fraser Marr a late fitness check, with David Weatherston set to be included for the first time after injury.
Smith said: “We played well against Raith last Saturday but could not score and lost.
“We did not play as well against Stirling but won 2-1. I want a good performance and a win in this game.”